Not bird related, but cute...

My mother and I were walking into a store yesterday afternoon and a few boys (about 10 y.o or so) came riding by on their bikes offering free rabbits. My mom was curious to see what they had because they had an itty bitty bucket in their hand. When we looked in the bucket, there were 8 little wild bunnies. The boys must have found the nest and thought it would be cool to get the bunnies. I knew the only chance the babies had were if I could take them (I used to volunteer at a wildlife rehab center) and see if the wildlife center had room. Unfortunately by the time we got home the were closed. So I took them home with me. I debated on whether to bathe them, or not. I opted to do so because they were just covered in ticks and the kids didn't put ANYTHING in the bottom of the bucket so they were in their own urine. :cry: I used Mycodex, a shampoo from our vet for my puppy to get rid of fleas. This shampoo can be used on puppies, so I figured if I diluted it and just bathed the bunny in the soapy water it would be fine. It worked great! The ticks fell off left and right and left the bunnies fluffy and clean. Then they got their bellies full again and they slept until 5 am, then I fed them. They were a lot more lively at 5 am than they were last night. But anyways....The guy at the wildlife center said they are full up and were unable to care for them. So....I will be caring for them. So far they are doing great. I guessed them to be about 10 to 12 days old as their eyes are not yet open. I used to raise rabbits and loved to take care of the babies that mothers abandoned (tho it made me sad to see that happen.) I've also cared for numerous litters of wild bunnies. We've got a ton of land up north so we take them up there and let them go. Sorry this wasn't bird related, but I thought I'd share with you all. I'll keep you posted!
-Mandi

 

That is very kind of you. I hope all the bunnies end up alright! This would be a very good topic to put in the "All Other Pets" section of the forum, because most of the small pet owners, like rabbit owners are in there, so they would have really benefitted to this thread, cause this was a very interesting and good post!

 

You are such a caring person Mandi and i know these little ones will be just fine.

I have never figured out why people take young animals from there nests how would they like it if someone stole them from there mummy.

Good luck and i have my fingers crossed.

Please do keep us informed of there progress..

Mike

 

lil' baby rabbit update

Hey guys, thanks for having confidence in me! My manager at work was like "Oh, that's too bad...they'll just die one by one"
It broke my heart to see those babies without their mother. I spent an hour an a half bathing all them lil buggars. As I finished bathing one, I dried it as best I could then handed it off to my mom so she could finish drying them before they went into their "hut". It was a family effort. Even my 9 year old nephew helped out. He was so mad at those boys. He said "If I EVER see any kids trying to mess with innocent baby animals I'm gonna tell them to go find something else to do and leave nature alone" But an update on the babies....they are all doing wonderful! They all have their eyes open except "Peanut" (the runt) he's noticably smaller than the others, but he does manage to eat more than the rest. I think I estimated them to be older than I thought. I think they are only about 11 or 12 days old today. They have already discovered how to escape from there holding bin (where I place them after they've been fed so I can keep track of everyone and make sure they all get fed.) they are very lively, so my hopes are very high. Though I am concerned for Peanut (all the other babies are named Pat, since that suits male or female :lol: )
I tried to give them some dandelion greens yesterday but they didn't really go for it yet. They tried to chew it, but I don't think they actually ate any. So I'm going to the store to get them some more solid foods to try later tonight, or tomorrow. They really fight me with their milk (formula) So I think they are ready for solids.
They are able to survive at a surprising young age. About 4 weeks old they will be able to go back into the wild. I don't think it's a good idea to keep them longer than that since the longer they are around people the harder it is for them to learn what they need to know in the wild, and I don't want them to be dependant on humans. I only get them out to feed them. I will try to get some pics. They kinda look like little rats until their eyes open. Then they get even cuter. I love my birds, but rabbits have always been my favorite animal!
Talk to you later!
-Mandi